Melyssa-with-a-Y

One of these days I'll have time to catch up on all the stuff I need to post. In the meantime, here's a picture of the beautiful flowers I received on (the day before) Valentine's day. They arrived a day early because the sender knew that I was leaving for Vegas on 2/14. (He's such a sweetie!) I've never been the-girl-who-got-the-flowers before -- in any office I've worked in (although I did have a visit from a singing Elvis once...) so it was kind of fun. :) And much to my surprise, when I came back to the office on Tuesday, the tulips were blooming beautifully and standing straight up out of the vase. Wow! More on Matt and the family trip to Vegas shortly. After Friday, when I can breathe again!

E is a good guy. He's funny (as long as you like sarcasm), bright, and a mensch. He knows more about Tiger Woods than I would ever have thought necessary. He's a BoSox fan and a Cowboys fan ( ICK! BLECH !), and a good father. And he looooves cheesy 70's music. He was put through the ringer by a nasty divorce, and is on his way to healing. What E needs more than anything else is a friend. After talking to him for a month, I realized how much I miss my guy friends. In my late 20's I spent a lot of time hanging out with some amazing guys, but haven't spoken to many of them in a while -- either because they went off and got married, I moved, or we drifted apart. [some of those I'm working on 'finding' again.] I miss going to baseball games, trying new restaurants, flirting even though we knew nothing would ever come of it, and just hanging out. I have worked hard to keep up with a few of you ( you know who you are ), and always smile when an email ...

Saturday was touristy day for me in San Antonio. The ridiculous April cold front that dropped snow on DC also dropped rain and 40-degree weather on Texas. ARGH. Driving down wasn't too bad, except for the people who are afraid to drive next to 18-wheelers, which we have plenty of around here. But I made it in about 90 minutes. The NJB (who will now be known as 'E'... not to be confused with 'EJ' who has taken over my trips to the supermarket with Dani!) met me at a shopping center a little north of town - no sense taking two cars into that melee. It was noon when I got there, but we weren't all that hungry, so we went to see the McNay Museum of Art . This worked out rather well, as the current exhibit on Warhol, Wyeth and Basquiat ends this weekend. I love pop art! [The Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh still stands out as one of the best Internet2 Worshop evening events that I planned, back in June of '99]. The most interesting items (IMHO) were the papercuts of...

Did you know that I have lovely things hidden away in my fridge/freezer? No, it's not (always) science-project-style growth -- but I sometimes forget that the stuff is there. Yesterday, I found a small bag of spinach that had to be cooked post-haste. Voila! Spinach with garlic and olive oil! (mom's quick recipe) This afternoon, I took the pork loin out of the freezer, to see if I could maybe come up with something to make for dinner. Voila again! Cooking Light's Smothered Pork Chops with Thyme . (I had pork loin, not chops, but same basic idea.) Add some brown rice, and you get a well-rounded, home-cooked meal. And to drink, Timbuktu Small Block White (Chardonnay), which I got at World Markets and stuck in the fridge for just such an occassion. (I think I bought it because I liked the car on the label.) :) In the meantime, when I haven't been on the phone with a newly-discovered Nice Jewish Boy*, I've been knitting Widdershins socks. (can't knit and hold the ph...

More on the "men vs. women" front, though this time not directly related to Judaism: LiveScience has published an article about how women choose the men they want to have 'flings' with vs. the ones they would marry. Overwhelmingly, participants said those with more masculine features were likely to be risky and competitive and also more apt to fight, challenge bosses, cheat on spouses and put less effort into parenting. Those with more feminine faces were seen as good parents and husbands, hard workers and emotionally supportive mates [ compare examples ]. They also link to an article that says that "fighting for a mate" makes men more apt to die sooner . "excessive risk taking, aggression, and the suppression of emotions by boys and young men" [are] directly related to lower life expectancy in men. If I'm reading this right, basically, if a woman chooses to marry the really high-testosterone and super-handsome (though not necessarily Mr. Ris...

* - This is a phrase that my mom doesn't get to hear very often, so I thought I would lead with it. :) When mom was here last weekend, she suggested that I move the sofa back against the wall and shift the console table to one side... etc, etc. I decided this weekend I would try it, and also build the second bookcase that we got at Office Depot. (I will not bore you with the details of the undelivered office furniture; suffice it to say they're gonna call me about it tomorrow.) Lo and behold, Mom was right. It looks lovely. The only drawback is that now I'm much further from the tv... so I'm tempted to buy a bigger one. ;) I also hung some pictures on the walls and emptied a few more boxes. So this is what it looks like now. The console table is along the left wall of the room - you can just see the corner of it in the picture. Having moved the sofa back, there was enough room to build the new bookcase in the middle of the floor! Friday night, I went to see Carlos Menc...